Ari Pappas and his Bishop Chatard teammates felt pretty good about the way they worked this summer, so they weren't surprised when that work paid off in a big way Friday night.
Pappas carried 12 times for 137 yards and four touchdowns, and the Trojans ran for 347 yards in opening the season with a 45-6 win at Broad Ripple.
"We worked really hard this summer," Pappas said. "We had great workouts, and we had great blocks on the line. We always have our things that we have to work on, and we're always going to improve, but tonight was a very good game."
Chatard dominated a game that was plagued by penalties. The Rockets alone were penalized 16 times for 116 yards.
The Trojans were especially dominant in the first half, scoring on each of five possessions in rolling to a 35-0 lead. Pappas scored the first two times they had the ball, and Andrew McDonald and Nolan Miller followed with touchdowns before Pappas scored the final touchdown of the first half.
"I think once we deflated their sails the first half, it was tough on them to come back," Chatard coach Vince Lorenzano said. "When you hold the ball that long on offense, it presents problems for them."
Pappas went for 56 yards on the first play of the second half, and scored from the 3 two plays later. Cody Dickson added a 28-yard field goal for a 45-0 lead.
"They've won eight state championships, they have tremendous tradition, they're extremely well coached and they have good players," Broad Ripple coach Bob Ashworth said. "They were just better than we were. They outplayed us from basically the first whistle to the last whistle. We have injury problems and have people out, and I don't think we brought our 'A' game tonight, particularly the offensive line."
Chatard limited Martell Baker to 18 yards through the first three quarters. Baker picked up 67 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown, late in the game.
Broad Ripple 0 0 0 6 --6
Bishop Chatard 14 21 10 0 --45
BC -- Ari Pappas 22 run (Cody Dickson kick)
BC -- Pappas 10 run (Dickson kick)
BC -- Andrew McDonald 20 run (Dickson kick)
BC -- Nolan Miller 36 run (Dickson kick)
BC -- Pappas 5 run (Dickson kick)
BC -- Pappas 3 run (Dickson kick)
BC -- FG Dickson 28
BR -- Martell Baker 1 run (kick blocked)
| BC | BR | |
| First Downs | 9 | 19 |
| Rushes-Yards | 35-97 | 47-347 |
| Passing Yards | 49 | 38 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 4-8-1 | 2-2-0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 16-116 | 9-85 |
| Punts-Avg. | 4-30.3 | 0-0 |
Rushing -- Broad Ripple: Baker 16-85, Josh Beck 7-12, Randy Morton 4-8, Dai'Ron Kennedy 7-(-1), Vontae Sweatt 1-(-7). Chatard: Pappas 12-137, Miller 7-64, McDonald 5-44, Chris Lucas 6-39, Ryan Kleinschmidt 5-25, Joe Fehribach 2-10, Brent Kelly-Hooks 2-9, Michael Adkins 1-7, Max VanVliet 1-5, Michael Goetz 1-4, Joe Sullivan 1-4, Nick Thee 1-3, Will Shine 1-1, Christopher Burton 1-(-1), Walker Kraft 1-(-4).
Passing -- Broad Ripple: Brandon Gordon 1-1-0 35, Kennedy 3-5-1 14, Morton 0-2-0. Chatard: George VanVliet 2-2-0 38.
Receiving -- Broad Ripple: David Hurt 1-35, Gordon 1-14, Keith Resnover 1-5, Baker 1-(-5). Chatard: McDonald 1-25, Dickson 1-13.
Missed Field Goals -- none